The fourth generation of mobile networks launched at a time when smartphones were fuelling an insatiable desire for data.

The UK’s first 3G network went live on the 3^rd of March 2003 by Three, but adoption was hampered by a lack of services, while operators were reluctant to invest too much having spent billions on spectrum licences. But by the end of the decade, uptake accelerated and mobile users felt constrained by a lack of capacity and speed.

4G Future

The UK was especially late to the game as legal battles delayed the auction of 4G airwaves, but EE – formed by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile – decided to pre-empt the sale by launching LTE on its existing bandwidth.

Since then, adoption has been rapid thanks to cloud applications, video streaming and other data intensive activities, while the technology itself is being further developed to become faster and to offer more capacity and lower latency.

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